December 22nd, 2011
01:46 PM ET
A new chapter for 'American Horror Story'I was not the biggest fan of "American Horror Story's" first episode back in October, but the show has shown gradual improvement over this first season. For one thing, characters' motivations are more or less understandable, so that's a big step forward. The writers (especially "Angel" and "X-Files" vet Tim Minear), for the most part, didn't sacrifice the story for straight-up scares. (Though the payoff, if you can call it that, of the Eric Stonestreet episode is still one of the big "WTH" moments of the year.) Wednesday night's finale brought closure in the most literal way possible for the Harmon family. In recent weeks, you didn't ask which character was killed in the latest episode, but rather which character was still alive. For the Harmons, the last three episodes have been pretty deadly.
Once Dylan McDermott's still-irritating character Ben (the man only has two modes – angry, and less angry) was hanged by the ghost of his mistress, he joined his late wife and daughter, doomed to stay in the "murder house" for all of eternity. But it didn't end there. A new family moved in, and it wasn't long before the Harmon spouses decided to get some help from some of the more innocent spirits in the house to drive them out - and then the couple took the cathartic measure of gruesomely "murdering" each other in front of the new homeowners. (You've gotta feel for that poor realtor.) But it didn't end there. There was still the matter of what became of the twin babies, only one of whom was assumed to have lived. It turns out both were alive, and it looked like Vivien was going to be able to raise her and Ben's child after all. But it didn't end there. As for the child that Vivien had with "Rubber Man" Tate, probably the biggest villain of this season, his mother Constance was raising him. Cut to three years later, where the scenery-chewing Jessica Lange made an excellent case for her Golden Globe nomination with a great monologue in a hair salon about the "greatness" for which Constance was destined before so many people started dying around her. The deaths weren't quite done, though, as she returned home to find the body of her adopted son's nanny and the three-year-old with a beyond-creepy grin on his face. Needless to say, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have more than laid the groundwork for season 2 (and what becomes of the potential ghost baby/three-year-old kid raised in the "murder house," by the way?). The question is, will viewers tune in? Did the finale leave you wanting more, or was this year's wild ride, and the apparent end to the Harmons' story, enough for you? Share your view on iReport or comment below.
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I LOVED the show.. it had so many characters and stories.....looked forward to it every week. Can't wait til they begin next season with a whole new story. I'm gonna miss Jessica Lang, she was excellent.
Now that everyone is dead, I was worried this would become a lame drama serious. I LOVE the idea of a new horror story!
Loved this show. Hated to see this season end. Can't wait to buy it on DVD. Loved the speed of the show, it never dragged. Looking forward to next season.
Does anybody here know that that was IT for this story??? The writers have said, this story will NOT continue, there will be a whole NEW story and the house will NOT be part of it....People this is not news! are you really fans??
Thorbeck – that's EXACTLY how I feel!
I read if there is a season 2 (hopeful) the writhers want each new season's to have different "hauntings" "murder house" and stories... If so thats weak... You cant tell me "Paula Deen" says the unholy child will cause the end of the world then skip on to a totally different haunting... That's what paranormal cable shows are for!
When I first watched the show I had mixed feelings but I liked Jessica Lang very much and kept watching and really got into it and loved the last installment of the season. Well done.
EXCELLENT SHOW, well-written, artistic, frightening, dramatic, *everything about it* is Quality. Not to mention it's total architecture-p r * n. The acting is formidable. Jessica Lange is the only actor that could ever pull off looking a hanging, dead neighbor in the eyes – smiling, smoking a cigarette – and saying in a cool, southern-drawl, "You...stupid, son-of-a b*t%h". 🙂 What a pleasure she is, and Evan Peters is the New Threat. Watch out! He is some FANTASTIC waiting to take HWood by storm. Ooh! THis is the top of "Addictions R Us" most desired new show. HOT!!! LOVE IT, MORE MORE MORE!!!!
@Pliny I would vote for teenage boy. Showing his intellect (and by intellect, I meant teenage-boy stupidity)
Sarah,
traci is a man.
A sad, fat, lonely man.
A boring and uncreative man.
And .... he's a virgin.
I LOVE THE SHOW I can't wait for the next season! It is awesome! oy
Good eye on the 'ghost baby' theory. And it appears any lingering questions may not be answered as the murder house set is gone.
I've watched every episode and I'm still not sure if I like it. I also find it increasingly difficult to explain to people who haven't seen the show what the show is about, or why I watch it. I do think the writers will have quite a challenge on their hands in either continuing the storyline, or explaining what happened pre-Harmon.
This show got my attention from the start. Looking forward to season two. Btw, thx for lol at the comments !
I saw only the first two but caught it last night. Am I correct to say that the whole family is dead that moved in when the show started?
@tracie......Really? I see you as a underager who giggles with her other loser frinds as you post. You probably had to go to bed before this show was on.Please go to any MTV website
The show was GREAT,The end was wonderful, and Jessica Lange was an award winner. There is no reason the season 2 not to go to another haunted house......except that Constance won't be living next door
Correction: The other child - the one Ben fathered - did in fact die. That was a "ghost baby" Moira and Vivien were cuddling.
It's a sophisticated show, not to everyone's taste, to be sure. It demands much more than your "Bones" or your "CSI"s or even "Castle" – and yes I enjoy all three from time to time - but the payoff is so much richer than other shows in general. And Lange should just be given the Emmy right now.
AGREED!!!!! Hear hear!
Would you like my mouth if I was a MORMON?
i like dooooodooo
@Scott- Can you please find another page to waste your time on, so you will stop wasting ours. Your comments are not funny. Move on.
where the hell was the spoiler alert....love this show and not happy that the finale was giving away with no warning! Would def not have read this article
I know, right Barb? I stopped really reading after the first or second paragraph when I realized that this article was just a summary of the episode? Anyways, wow. I never realized CNN comments would be so fun to read.
I heard this really is one of the best shows on TV. Ive already missed 2 seasons though. Too bad for me.
Emily...just season so you can catch up. I have been catching up watching On Demand and its a great show. You still have time to give it a try.
Watch them on Hulu.com 😉
Tracie, you are a peach. Dont let those dirty mean old people bother you. They are all just creepy prune eaters. I bet they watch this lame show too.
I know all about shows like this. Someone talks to someone else. Something happens. Then they talk some more. It is sooooo lame.
you know what's lame... mormonism.
He must be. Anyone that likes this show must be an embicile. A short school bus rider.
So, you're watching a TV show that you don't like? What a waste of time! If you're not watching the show then how can you have an opinion about something you know nothing about? Did the little yellow bus hit you?
My son is developmentally disabled, and rides the "short bus" to school. He does not like this show. Therefore, your logic is retarded.
At least we are smart enough to know how to spell "imbecile". 🙂 You should spell-check your big words. *eyeroll*
I really dont understand the shows concept. They can go back in time to this odd place called terra nova but cant travel forward to the present. If they cant travel forward through the time portal then how to they get the golden tablets to the mormons? It just seems odd to me.
MORMON TROLLS in the dungeon! Bwahaha!
Love Love Love this show. I am thoroughly amused by the "creepiness" of it all. Can't wait for season 2.
I am addicted to the show. It is creepy and morbid. For me it has been a good distraction from all the sappy holiday programs. It is original, well acted and directed. Can't wait for season 2.
I hope they vote Ben off the island. He cant sing worth a flip. Plus none of the girls like him. I really think he will be the next to go.
I loved the show and am looking forward to next season. It will be interesting to see how they can top this season. Its a great change from the boring reality shows, which i quit watching. Thank heavens for PBS.
I loved the finale!!!! Never saw it coming. And Jessica Lange is the best neighbor from hell!!! She rocks!!!
I have LOVED this show from start to finish. How fantastic – a combination of ghost hunters, paranormal activity, the sixth sense and the shining all rolled into one fantastically creepy show. I love how it didn't just "end there". I can't wait for next season. I have no idea what they are going to do, but I have no doubt it will be the same creepy yet compelling story as this season.
i agree with everything you said, i love this show, disappointed that we have to wait til next season! looked forward to wed nites...People who dont get this show are jus plain ignorant! its not real people, although it probably could be someones reality.... makes you think... i love any thing metaphysical or paranormal...
I thought the FINALE was great! I love this show and look forward to watching it every week. It is very exciting and scary. I can not wait until next season to see what happens with the babies...I think they should have the coach from Friday Night Lights on the show as a possible love triangle for Vivian – they had the best chemistry!!!!
Great show, but I was a bit disappointed in the finale as well. The whole "scare the new family" bit was silly and not even necessary. I read that the finale was supposed to be much longer, but they didn't have time to finish it. I hope it's better on the dvds, but I thought the finale was the worst episode of the season.
Whoever writes for this show knows nothing about our religion. It seems they are just making it up as they go along. I saw no mwntion of either Joseph Smith or Brigham Young this season. It was an utter disappointment.
TROLL in the dungeon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really dislike this show. It portrays our LDS brotherhood in a negative light. The Golden Tablets did not come from Xenu. Joseph Smith found them.
Are you high?
TROLL in the dungeon!!!
What are you talking about? You have the wrong show, this isn't "Big Love" moron or mormon.
What on Earth are you talking about?
Did you actually watch the show? Both babies didn't live...the "stillborn" took 1 breath in the house then died, therefore spending eternity as a newborn ghost in the house. And the 3-yr-old isn't being raised in murder house (yet)...he lives next door with Constance...
Just more garbage made by outsiders and unbelievers.
mormon god loves this show. he told me. Also, read my name....
Anyone who believes in Mormonism, or any other religion for that matter, is a weak-minded sheep.
I will put this simply so that even you too may understand... you do know this is a work of make-believe, like Tinker Bell and the Easter Bunny, don't you sweetie pie?
Oh we believe all right. And we can "pray" too...MHUAHAHAHAHAH!!! You better pray, or little Michael won't be too happy with you... 🙂 "It's all for you, Damien!!"
Liberal garbage. No other way to describe this.
Did your mother have any children that lived?
What are you, twelve?
WHAT? You're a weirdo
Ha! You sound like the church lady
I am sure there are other more succinct, more intelligent ways to describe a show – or anything – other than 'Liberal Garbage' . What the hell does that even mean?? Conservatives don't believe in the artistic structure of the 'horror' genre?
.
It is really nice to read your 'liberal garbage' posts.
Mainly because it proves that conservatives are total and complete morons.
I often wonder how tards like you live on a day-to-day basis.
How does it feel to know that you are on the wrong side of every issue in the universe?
Better still. When you come here and write your 2nd-grade-reading-level idiocy....do you ever wonder why the internet is so FILLED with things that you must criticize, and so DEVOID of things that you agree with? Doesn't it seem funny to you that the entire world seems to hold views that are the opposite of yours?
Oh sure, you could goto the conservative blogs and read. But they fall into two catagories: 1) pseudo-intellectual facism...which is a short description of everyone in the republican party....or 2) the political equivalent of a Hagar-the-Horrible cartoon (this catagory is reserved for George W Bush, the idiot who reads kiddie-books while the nation is under attack).
Bottom line. I want you to continue to post your 'liberal stooge' messages. Your words are a constant reminder to us all that a conservative-mind is both closed and small.
Why don't you go watch some Waltons, or some Andy Griffith? Or something with some nice rightie-style hate on it, like something about the GOP? Gingrich is always good for saying something hateful about others that aren't him! That should make you feel all *riled* up!
Gotta luv how a conservative would politicize a fictional cable drama!
I am a conservative and I loved the show. Please don't group all of us together.
What?
Amazing show...disappointing finale. 😦 I psyched myself up too much for it...though it was REALLY hard to top last weeks episode. (Birth)
I enjoyed this show. It kept you guessing and I loved the last two episodes. I was disappointed that Vivien died, as I am a big fan of Connie Britton. I like the idea of a different house, different ghosts, but what becomes of psycho boy?? Maybe mama Lange kills him, knowing she can't protect him, and let's him loose in the ghost house. I will miss Connie Britton. Hope she turns up in something new, soon!
They said that story's done, so a whole new story with some of the same faces are coming back in the fall. Trippy.